Pin-ups and plug-in cars

With the notable exception of the Tesla Roadster, electric cars and hybrids have rarely been seen as sexy.

Take the Nissan Leaf. Cute? Yes. Cool? Yes, in that dig-my-new-smartphone way. Sexy? Not a chance.

But perhaps that isn’t the fault of the cars so much as the way we think of them. We focus on their eco credentials, their benefits to the environment, their ability to save us money at the gas pump. It doesn’t even occur to most of us that these cars could be considered sexy.

Cessario, an art director for an ad agency, has published a pin-up calendar for the plug-in crowd. It mimics in every way the classic hot-rod calendars of yore that paired bikini babes with muscle cars. Except in the Pump Rebels 2012 calendar, the babes are draped over EVs, hybrids and high-mileage, gas-burning compacts.

“Fuel-efficient technology is badass, but no one is talking about it that way,” said Cessario, who lives in San Francisco.

He recalls a friend who once said that he liked the idea of electric cars but just couldn’t picture himself in one. The image was all wrong.

“People just assume it’s a higher income bracket who are very politically correct and shop at Whole Foods — that seems to be the niche that most people think of as driving these cars,” Cessario said. “The manly guy is almost looking for permission for it to be OK for him to buy these cars.”

He got the idea last April, and spent the rest of the year cobbling the calendar together in his spare time. A friend introduced him to a photographer, Peter Dawson, who has shot car ads for Audi and Lexus, among others. Dawson agreed to waive his usual fee, and he recruited models via a web site for aspiring models not represented by a big-name agency.

The whole project cost about $5,000, paid out of Cessario’s pocket. So far, he’s sold about 100 of the 250 that he printed, selling them online.

Cessario acknowledges that some people in the left-leaning, eco-conscious crowd — sensitive to anything that smacks of objectifying women — may not entirely appreciate what he’s doing. Similarly, the stereotypical car-loving dude may have little interest in high fuel efficiency or plug-in technology.

In short, the calendar doesn’t have an obvious audience. Cessario is OK with that.

“I didn’t really try to sit down and think about who would buy this,” he said. “But the people who’ve bought it seem to love it.”